These days, Howard Goldberg is slowly disposing of memories.

        Mr. Goldberg, owner of Howard Studio in St. Bernard, has a buyer for his building on Vine Street. To prepare for retirement after more than 50 years of photography, he's cleaning out his files of negatives and prints and selling his equipment. It's time, he says.

        “I loved what I did, and never had a day in my life that I didn't want to come to work,” he said. “But I don't miss it. All our clients are gone, and my peers are all dead.”

Howard Goldberg poses in his photo studio. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Mr. Goldberg, 73, has been scaling back for six years and hasn't taken any professional shots for a year. Leafing through yellowed newspaper wedding announcements featuring his studio portraits, he marveled.

        “It's like reliving your life. Most of these pictures I can remember; I can remember these kids.”

        He has photographed three generations of weddings for some Cincinnati families, said his son Doug, who lives in Anderson Township.

        “There were times when people would call him and say, "You did my wedding and my daughter's wedding. Now my granddaughter is getting married. Can you do her wedding?'”

        But weddings, though an important part of his business, were only one of his specialties. The studio walls are still lined with award-winning shots spanning Mr. Goldberg's career, their subjects reflecting a broad clientele as well as widely ranging interests. There's a handsome grouping of rattan furniture, a composition of shiny machine parts, a lobster and a luminous display of Edelmann's Meats.

        “Anything that came down the pike, we photographed,” Mr. Goldberg said with a chuckle. “Those people came in with a bunch of meat and said, "Make us a picture.'”

        He didn't always stay in the studio. Among his souvenirs are a photograph of his two sons atop a frozen Ohio River, a study of coal barges further downriver and an image of shrimp boats moored at a Mississippi dock. He snapped the Cincinnati riverfront from every conceivable angle and captured glimpses of Cincinnati's changing face over a half-century.

        “He has always had a huge amount of pride in this city,” Doug Goldberg said. “Our home was just covered in pictures. I learned about Cincinnati through his lens.”

        Cincinnati history also shines through a series of black-and-white photos of famous people — some of them natives — who smiled for Mr. Goldberg's camera.

        “Here's Johnny Bench with his parents,” he commented, perusing a stack of 8-by-10 prints. “Louis Armstrong, and that's Ezzard Charles in the background. Here's Bob Hope. George Gobel. And Doris Day — you know she's from around here; went to school right down the street at Our Lady of Angels School.”

        Mr. Goldberg honed his art in a two-year program at the Ray School of Photography in Chicago. He established a small studio there. But six months later, he returned home. In 1953, he opened his first Cincinnati studio, also in St. Bernard. He moved to his current location in 1976. As he built his clientele, the photographer also established himself as an active member of the community, donating time to Kiwanis and Shriner projects and assuming leadership roles in various professional photography organizations.

        “When I was growing up, he was such a great role model,” Doug Goldberg said.

        An old portrait camera still stands in the front window of Howard Studio.

        “It was made in 1928, the year I was born,” he said. “Things have changed about 150 percent since I started in this business in 1948. The young guys aren't even using film; everything's digital. Of course, those cameras cost about $30,000.

        “People can look at proofs before they leave and even take their prints home with them. You've still got to set things up and do your lighting, but now there's no lab work.”

        Soon, when the photos and equipment are gone, Mr. Goldberg will be free to devote himself to his family, his vacation home and his collection of Lionel trains. His photography these days is limited to taking snapshots with an automatic camera.

        “It takes pretty good pictures,” he said.

One cool, tough leader
GE looks for growth in new and old fields
Corporate espionage has long history
Federated puts finger on Fingerhut problem
Shutterbug shutting the door
BladEater cutting through competition
Bison good for the sole
Small Business Success
Business Notes
What's the Buzz?